Blizzard is Doing Something With Warcraft That Isn’t WOW

Could Blizzard be developing an RPG based on the Warcraft franchise?

Blizzard appears to be doing something with the Warcraft franchise that isn’t yet another World of Warcraft title. Over the recent days, the studio acquired WarcraftBattles.com and today, they filed a grievance over HeroesofWarcraft.com for its owner’s refusal to relinquish the domain.

The studio has purchased domains in the past that were previously camped upon by domain squatters. In one such instance, the studio made a deal with DiabloFans.com, which previously owned the domain Diablo3.com, to link to the site on its front page for a set period of time.

History aside, the studio filed a complaint (in a report via Fusible) with the National Arbitration Forum to acquire control over the HeroesofWarcraft.com domain, which appears to be currently registered under a citizen of the UK. The owner is presumably absent or refuses to deal with Blizzard, as the site itself appears to be offline. Fusible also notes that the company also registered the name HeroesofWarcraft.co.uk in September.

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne had originally been planned as a game called Heroes of Warcraft when it was in development with more RPG features in mind, but eventually acquired its present and final name. The studio may have plans to revive the name in addition to the concept of Warcraft as a role-playing title, which is highly possible given the success of other RPGs in recent years. The game would also allow its writers to expand upon the Warcraft legacy outside of an MMO setting, which only allows for so much storytelling.

More DLC will follow the Slingshot Content Pack coming soon this year

XCOM: Enemy Unknown has proven to be a big success, and plenty of downloadable content for the game is on its way, Take-Two has said. In a statement about the popularity of the game, a representative from Take-Two (which owns 2K Games and Rockstar Games) said:

The title is proving to be a critical and commercial success, with strong digital sales and a near 90 average review score on Metacritic. XCOM: Enemy Unknown is being supported with two downloadable add-on content packages available this year, with additional content planned for 2013.

While no details have been given on the additional content that will be available next year, this year’s content consists of the Elite Soldier Pack and the Slingshot Content Pack. The first of these was a pre-order bonus, but can also now be purchased for $4.99 on PS3/PC or 400 Microsoft Points. The Elite Soldier Pack gives you a raft of customisation tools, like the ability to change the colour of your soldier’s armour.

The Slingshot Content Pack has no release date, but will include three new maps that are linked to the Council missions, a new playable character, and some more new customisation options for all your little soldiers.

Sometimes life is hard but, even though games are often used as a form of pure escapism, game characters have a hard time as well from time to time. Whether by our orders or simply through a cruel twist of fate, here’s a list of the ten characters in gaming who seem to get the most amount of abuse thrown there way. This list may contain mild spoilers.

Use the Next and Back buttons to navigate the gallery.

Most JRPG protagonists – Any JRPG

If it’s not amnesia, a mysterious past, bereavment, or some other kind of misfortune, the likelihood is your protagonist is some kind of clone or demonic being. Or you’re probably just not playing a classic enough JRPG. Either way, JRPG heroes stereotypically wind up being tortured characters indeed.

They’re just waiting for a game to use it.

Gabe Newell has confirmed that Valve is indeed working on Source 2 Engine.

The confirmation came during Newell’s birthday where fans from the 4chan.org’s /v/ board visited. One of the fans asked whether Valve is currently working on a new Source engine to which Newell said, “We’ve been working on new engine stuff for a while,” according to Joystiq.

Newell added, “We’ve just been waiting for a game to roll out with it.” Someone asked Newell to elaborate whether it’s “more than just an extension to Source”, specifically hinting at a completely new engine, and Newell replied, “Yeah.”

So there you have it. Newell also revealed that Ricochet 2 is being developed at the moment.

Check out a video from the birthday visit (including the comments about Source 2 Engine) above.

10 Myths and Legends in Videogames

Nick Lalone has compiled five myths and legends in videogames for Halloween.

Myths and Legends

In honor of Halloween and every fairy tale, wives tale, horror story, and urban legend in our hometowns, here is a collection of 10 unique tales from the virtual. Urban Legends in video games are actually pretty rare given that they are the product of closed systems randomly doing something they were meant to do; but they are always entertaining.

Traditionally, these legends usually originate in a forum post or are the product of our reliance on wikis – especially in games that cross between languages and cultures. Creepy Pasta is one place that stories like these originate though I have only chosen 2 that have. Check the site out when you feel like feeling creeped out. I recommend you be very drunk or very sick.

This collection of urban legends are either in the process of being formed or have never really travelled outside the community they appeared in. They are ordered according to how fantastic they seem to be. I have tried to collect 10 legends that have actual game origins. In certain cases, this is not true but I will leave that to you to discern.

Normally in a case like this, I’d say yes. I’d say this is nostalgia on an almost reckless level and that we need to make sure we move forward, not back. But this time? This time I’m hopeful. This time I think going over old ground might be really helpful, provided we know we’re doing it and we’re ready for what comes next.

Because here’s the thing: Those old ideas we’re reviving right now? They were really bloody good. That’s why we remember them fondly - the big games of the 1990s were better than the big games of the 2000s, by and large.

For years now, I’ve felt the games industry was stuck in a cynical and boring rut. It seemed like there was an endless cycle of games which were moving us in the wrong direction, that were getting bigger instead of better. Modern Warfares rolled by like they were coming off a production line and, it turns out, they kind of were. Publishers were getting us excited over all the wrong things - release platforms and the amount of playtime and polygons and 3D. The sort of stuff that’s good to know, but which isn’t why games actually matter.

Do you want to know the reason that Call of Duty hasn’t had a new idea in five years? It’s because it hasn’t needed one.

But let’s not get distracted.

The point is that, for a while, the games industry has been like a train slipped off the track; the wheels were spinning but we’ve not really gone anywhere. A few people have tried to push it forward, but even with heavyweights such as Braid behind the engine, progress has been painfully slow.

Now, somehow, we’re back on track! It’s only natural that we have to pick up where we left off and that’s no bad thing so long as we’re able to move forward from here.

Moving forward isn’t going to be easy though. The technology and audiences have changed dramatically while we were delayed and there are ideas about the future which are potentially destructive - but these are barriers we can overcome if we all pitch in. If we can discard the humdrum opinions and yawning justifications of the last few years; if we stop sleepwalking through games and actually start to question them; if we can damn the ideas that hold us back without become entitled brats?

If we have an idea of what we want games to be and start devoting ourselves to getting them there?

Gaming in the Age of The New 90s

Have we travelled back in time? Joe Martin thinks so, which he reckons gives us a unique opportunity to get back to the future…

Games are like people; they tell stories. Sometimes they tell them themselves, other times they merely act as things stories occur around - and sometimes, they tell the same story twice.

That’s exactly what’s happening now. We’re being told a story we’ve heard before and I don’t mean that just the sense of annual franchises and evergreen brands. This is the story of the 1990s, just told with better illustrations along the way. It’s something which is characterising even the bravest and most original games we’ve seen.

Take Dishonored, for example. That’s a great game. It’s fun, it’s interesting, it was the product of enormous talent and passion…but it also wouldn’t be a huge leap to suggest that it’s also analogous to the original Thief: The Dark Project. I’ll grant you that there are some differences, yes, but a gruff and morally blank protagonist sneaking around a technological-but-medieval fantasy version of London? Saving the sprawling, curiously empty city he lives in with the help of trinkets from a previous civilization? Designed by folks graduated from Looking Glass Studios?

That sounds a lot like Thief to me.

And Dishonored is just one of the weaker examples. What other big game has everyone been talking about? XCOM: Enemy Unknown. What were we talking about before that? Diablo. Before that? Deus Ex - which went so far back to it’s roots that it told fundamentally the same story and set it in the same places. Detroit was the new Hell’s Kitchen, Hengsha the new Hong Kong.

This isn’t just a retroactive trend either. It ripples into the future; Impire is the new Dungeon Keeper, BioShock the new System Shock. SimCity is the new, um, Simcity. These are games and ideas being revived, not merely franchises; Syndicate doesn’t count.

If we’ve travelled back in time then, the question is: is that a bad thing?

Look, before you start trolling and pointing out that Beyond Good and Evil HD was recently released on XBLA and PSN indicating that a Beyond Good and Evil 2 must be in the works, and that there was a teaser trailer released 3 years ago that showed how Ubisoft must at least be considering work on the damned thing, allow me to burst your bubble by reminding you of a little game called Duke Nukem Forever.

Now I’m not saying that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is going to be this generations DNF. I’m saying that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is this generations DNF. I mean, C’MON. If you simply equate its re-release as DLC with Duke Nukem 3D’s ports to iPhone’s and the like, the much-anticipated sequels painstakingly slow trajectory onto current-gen consoles is almost exactly the same as the Duke’s, except with smaller tits and more pig-headedness (geddit?).

1. Shenmue 3

The sad fact of the matter is Shenmue 3 would be probably be lapped up by today’s gamers. Boasting an unparalleled amount of freedom for its time, the Shenmue series allowed gamers to follow the story of well-groomed protagonist Ryo Hazuki in any way they saw fit. Whether it be simply slaving away at a shitty part-time job or following a long tale of redemption, players felt like they had Ryo’s world at their feet and as such Shenmue proved to be a big hit for the Dreamcast.

Shenmue may not seem as revolutionary in a gaming market that has now seen many a sandbox game offering gamers endless possibilities, but Ryo’s quirky take on the genre would still inevitably find a big audience if it adapted itself for a 21st century audience. Hell, even quick-time events are no longer viewed as laborious thanks to Heavy Rain’s perfect implementation of them, and with gaming moving further and further into interactive movie territory, Shenmue’s cinematic-heavy gameplay would fit in perfectly.

While various projects have been unveiled only to be canned before development, including an intriguing Shenmue Online, the only noticeable signs of life in the franchise are in the upcoming Japan-only mobile phone game Shenmue City, Ryo’s cameo appearance in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and this Mega64 video.

Tim Schafer hasn’t had the greatest of luck when it has come to selling his games. Despite being one of the most original minds in the business, Schafer’s output has managed to elude a mainstream audience and consistently undersell, with Psychonauts being a prime example.

Although it was hailed as one of the greatest and most unique platformers to grace consoles at the time, Psychonauts rested uneasily with the public and was met with disappointing sales figures. Those who did give it a chance, however, have championed the need for a sequel, with the original title leaving the story on a dramatic cliffhanger that begged to be concluded.

Schafer appeared to be undeterred by the commercial failure of his project, going on to create the equally underappreciated Brutal Legend which, despite featuring the vocal talent of Hollywood star Jack Black, still failed to connect with a wide audience, selling just 215,000 copies in the US in its opening month.

Schafer then went on to create downloadable titles such as Stacking and Costume Quest, before finally caving in to the money-making machine and attaching his name to Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster. In all honesty, Tim, we do not blame you. Godspeed, buddy.

3. Killer Instinct 3

Another Rare title that is unlikely to see the light of day thanks to the developers aversion to making games that gamers actually want to play, Killer Instinct gained notoriety by combining the attack system of Street Fighter with the finishing movies of Mortal Kombat, sprinkling a healthy dollop of insane combo’s into the mix for good measure.

With a character list that featured everything from werewolves to Velociraptors, the original Killer Instinct was an arcade favourite until its successful port to the SNES. An arcade-only sequel was released in 1996, with a modified console version of it appearing at the launch of the Nintendo 64 under the title Killer Instinct Gold.

A reboot of the franchise would be welcomed with open arms, with Rare’s Nick Burton teasing that it could be a possibility. Unfortunately he then went on to say that the follow-up may be “Killer Instinct Kinect”. F*** you, Nick Burton.

2. Beyond Good and Evil 2

Look, before you start trolling and pointing out that Beyond Good and Evil HD was recently released on XBLA and PSN indicating that a Beyond Good and Evil 2 must be in the works, and that there was a teaser trailer released 3 years ago that showed how Ubisoft must at least be considering work on the damned thing, allow me to burst your bubble by reminding you of a little game called Duke Nukem Forever.

Now I’m not saying that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is going to be this generations DNF. I’m saying that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is this generations DNF. I mean, C’MON. If you simply equate its re-release as DLC with Duke Nukem 3D’s ports to iPhone’s and the like, the much-anticipated sequels painstakingly slow trajectory onto current-gen consoles is almost exactly the same as the Duke’s, except with smaller tits and more pig-headedness (geddit?).

5 Video Game Sequels That Will Never Happen

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Every now and again a videogame is released that is so unequivocally bad, its developer brushes the remnants of its awfulness under the carpet in the hopes that no one will ever mention it again. Then there are the videogames that have achieved cult classic status, diamonds in the rough that shot from obscurity into the hands of a select few gamers who cherished them like the wonderful little secrets they were. Last but not least are the videogames that achieved such popularity in their heyday that their developers have warily avoided the notion of a follow-up ever since. The one thing all these titles have in common is that, for better or for worse, none of them will ever likely receive a sequel.

Disheartening, yes, but them’s the breaks, kid. Here are 5 such titles that we’ve almost definitely seen the last of.

5. Battletoads 3

The original Battletoads for the NES is regarded as the most unforgiving titles in early-90s gaming. This was a decade that also saw the releases of both Contra III and Super Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts. Battletoads really was THAT hard.

Released to directly rival the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games, Battletoads became a firm favourite among NES owners thanks to its over-the-top sense of humour and superb graphics (if not for its insane difficulty level).

Unfortunately, just like Duke Nukem Forever before it, a next-gen predecessor to the retro beat ‘em up has now become something of an industry joke, with the above image being touted by witty forum members as the closest we’ll ever get to seeing Rash, Zit and Pimple in the third dimension.

The last we saw the slimy trio was in the underrated arcade gem Super Battletoads, which saw the series adopt a grittier, more violent tone that would be perfectly suited to this generations bloodthirsty gamer. It’s a shame, then, that the series has long been forgotten, with its developers Rare now turning their focus away from quality old-school gaming and onto mediocre new-school arm-flailing in the form of Kinect Sports.